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Aruba Airwave vs Cisco DNA Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Airwave
Ranking in Network Management Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (15th), Network Automation (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 7.1%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 28.1%, up from 28.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Prashant-Patel - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution has multi-vendor support, and it can be used for network management
Aruba Airwave is an on-prem solution, so you have to manage it with your servers to be deployed. You can also deploy it on the cloud if you have your own private cloud. All the configuration guides and the different types of designs you need are available from Aruba Airwave's portal. I would recommend Aruba Airwave to other users. Overall, I rate Aruba Airwave ten out of ten.
AvrahamSonenthal - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features
The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution is not overly expensive."
"It has improved my organization by increasing troubleshooting opportunities which makes things more efficient."
"It can interact with other vendors better than Cisco, which is a good point of AirWave. It is easy to use, and its reporting is good."
"It contains valuable features for engineers to C-level executives, who want visibility, performance, statistics, and a platform which can take action for them without manual intervention, saving time and money.​​"
"This solution gives you a lot of reporting capabilities, and it has a very good interface."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its dashboard and simplicity."
"Aruba Airwave provides a robust solution for monitoring and configuring Wi-Fi networks."
"The solution's initial setup process is straightforward."
"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."
"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"Application Assurance works very well."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
"The best feature of Cisco DNA Center is the visibility page, where you can see everything on the dashboard, and you don't have to be a technical person to view the issues."
"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
 

Cons

"The integration with other platforms like Cisco needs to be improved."
"I am not deeply familiar with the solution, so if I mention a feature, it might already exist, yet I may be unaware of it."
"The overall monitoring of this solution could be improved."
"I want a management solution to manage and monitor everything from a single dashboard. This is not there with Airwave."
"We sometimes have problems with troubleshooting between the GUI and the CLI manipulation."
"When upgrading hardware, there were technical issues with network interfaces and Red Hat, which required escalation to developers."
"More devices or vendors should be onboarded to Aruba Airwave."
"We're looking for more device compatibility. Like compatibility with third-party devices."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"There is a limitation with the number of VRFs that you can have in your network, and this has caused us problems with some customers."
"The features of Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime could have more parity."
"The network, data center, and SD-WAN are all being treated as different services, but I would like to have only one solution to manage all of them."
"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."
"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"The product has many features that do not work properly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is not expensive."
"Aruba Airwave's licensing cost is not that expensive."
"The tool is expensive. If one is bad or expensive, and ten is very good or cheap, I rate the product's price as a six."
"The licensing cost for Aruba Airwave increased from $72 to $210 within a few months. It would be better if the pricing for the solution were cheaper."
"It's device-based licensing. One device requires one license."
"AirWave is a very expensive solution. If you implement it in a wide range network, it will cost a lot. There is no option to sell it outside that price segment, which is a problem."
"The licensing is on an yearly basis."
"The cost is perfect because the devices have a lifetime warranty, and the licensing is good as well."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"The product is very costly."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
"Cisco DNA Center is a licensed product with multiple levels of licensing available such as basic, advanced, and essential. I don't have the exact figure, but Cisco DNA Center is costly. For example, the box has information about the essential license and costs a considerable amount of money. You need to pay extra to use advanced features in Cisco DNA Center. My company sees Cisco DNA Center as a solution that's worth the money, which is why it invested in the solution. If you want centralized management for your network, especially when upgrading it, Cisco DNA Center is perfect, but it's more suitable for a large-scale rather than a small-scale network."
"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
8%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Airwave?
I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Airwave?
The tool is expensive. If one is bad or expensive, and ten is very good or cheap, I rate the product's price as a six.
What needs improvement with Aruba Airwave?
We cannot identify any problems. I am not deeply familiar with the solution, so if I mention a feature, it might already exist, yet I may be unaware of it.
What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The system is working fine for me currently.
 

Also Known As

No data available
DNA Center
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Henkel, University of Findlay, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Iowa
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Airwave vs. Cisco DNA Center and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.